Neeyat Movie Review- The Whodunnit is a Mediocre Mystery Movie

Neeyat Movie Review: A billionaire invites a bunch of friends to an Island to celebrate his birthday but unfortunately murdered by seemingly one of them-Neeyat appears to be a loose replica of Knives Out with a blend of themes from an Agatha Christie’s novel. The palatial building, island setting and a bunch of people stuck together (almost like And Then There Were None) but here only one is murdered, at least initially and the others are left fighting amongst themselves. 

As you begin watching the movie, a list of characters with their background stories are introduced to make the plot more intricate- probably to have the audience wondering who can have the incentive to murder. The movie opens with a billionaire Ashish Kapoor known as AK in the film, exiled from India and living in a Scottish castle. Alongside him is his assistant Kay played by Amrita Puri who is always found beside AK. 

Image – KoiMoi

Apart from his friends- including a tarot reader, AK’s best friend, his wife and his son- is AK’s girlfriend, his drug addict son, his brother-in-law featuring Rahul Bose and his son’s girlfriend played by Prajakta Koli. Also playing an important role is Danish Razvi who takes the character of Tanveer, the manager of the house. 

Everything is in place as the elite group is enjoying their dinner when the CBI officer Mira Rao (Vidya Balan) interrupts their extravagant evening to arrest Ashish Kapoor to present him at a court trial for a fraud of Rs 20,000 crore. Things go askew when Ashish jumps off the cliff and apparently kills himself. 

Neeyat Movie Review:

The first half of the film is extremely boring and monotonous. One after another subplot is augmented to make it more perplexing only to end up with a hodge-podge of mediocre performances and half-built stories. The actors try their best to make sense of their part in the movie however it ends up being a bland mixture of several things together.

From the trailer it might appear that Neeyat is a Vidya Balan’s movie, but her half-baked character of Mira Rao is far from her best performances. Having seen the seasoned actress play even more intelligent and deeper roles, it is astonishing to see her unconvincing character in this movie. There is always a blank expression, a blank stare if you may say, on her face as she is seen lost in her own world- exactly opposite from what you would expect a detective to be.

Image – OutLook

Directed by Anu Menon, Neeyat is a perfect example when too many cooks spoil a broth. There is so much going on that you don’t know which character to focus on and whose expression to follow equipped with dialogues that are unnatural and out of place. The movie lacks a soul and even the direction falters at some point. Neeyat utterly falls short of its screenplay- however, the cinematography is worth praising. 

Andreas Neo does a good job with the magnificent setting of the movie and the aerial montage of the gothic castle- which was a wonderful choice considering the plot of the movie- along with several sequences shot in the dark where viewers will have no problem in figuring out what is happening. The cinematography does its job of portraying the theme. 

But mind you- Neeyat is not outright monotonous. No matter how lethargic the movie is, it will keep you hooked till the end, for most parts, about the whole whodunnit part. There is substance in the movie to keep you invested especially when it is shown that every character has a motive. The climax is intense and praiseworthy however it comes very late and for a very short time. Nevertheless, Neeyat lacks direction, writing and nuanced characters all of which play a central part in a murder-mystery movie. 

Image – Republic TV

Conclusion- 

For some, Neeyat can be a satisfactory watch if they can ignore the dull parts and stay connected with the movie throughout. However, if you cannot go through almost an hour of slow-burning plot only for it to reach its climax when you are exhausted- Neeyat may not be a good pick for you. There is no doubt about it that the audience expects much more from a mystery movie and Neeyat had the vision but not the plot and execution. Are you planning to watch Neeyat? Let us know in the comment section.

Also Read – Blind Movie Review- The Crime Thriller Awfully Fell Short at both Crime and Thrill

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